On Oct. 6, 2004, Enrico had joined Patrick for lunch when he began choking on his sandwich. Patrick urged Enrico to cough. When he heard no sound, he told another student to get help and began performing the Heimlich Manoeuvre, dislodging the food from Enrico’s airway.

“I wasn’t nervous. I knew there was no time and had to help right away,” says Patrick. “Afterwards, I just couldn’t believe what had just happened!”

Patrick used the skills he learned in his Grade 9 CPR course to save Enrico’s life. The staff and students at Immaculata High School are proud to have a lifesaver among them.

“We’re proud of what Patrick did and thankful for the training and support that has been provided by the ACT Foundation,” says principal Tom. “Learning CPR and the skills that come with the training is something that I would encourage every student to take.”

For Patrick, his CPR skills have helped him save a friend’s life, and have also guided him towards a career in the health profession.

“Just knowing I can act under pressure and won’t freak out. Knowing I can handle myself makes me feel proud of myself. I want to go into the paramedic profession. I feel more confident that it would be a good field for me.”

The ACT High School CPR Program was made possible at Immaculata High School thanks to generous community and provincial-level support which enabled the donation of mannequins, teacher training and curriculum resources. The lead community partner in Ottawa is the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa. The print partner which donates the printing of the student manual is the Ottawa Citizen. Provincial partners of the program are the Government of Ontario, Hydro One, Shoppers Drug Mart, and The Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is an award-winning, national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR in high schools across Canada. ACT raises funds to donate mannequins, teacher training, manuals and other materials to schools, and guides schools in program set-up and long-term sustainability. Teachers teach CPR to their students as a regular part of the curriculum. Over 900,000 youth have been trained in CPR through this lifesaving program to date.

Core partners supporting the program in Ontario and throughout Canada are companies in the research-based pharmaceutical industry: AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, Pfizer Canada and sanofi-aventis. They provide ACT’s sustaining funding and are committed to the Foundation’s national goal of promoting health and empowering Canadians to save lives.